A vulnerability (CVE-2023-52138, CVSS 8.2 HIGH) in the Engrampa archive manager for MATE allows arbitrary file writes and code execution with user privileges when extracting a malicious archive containing specially crafted symbolic links. Affected versions are mate-desktop engrampa versions prior to 1.26.2. The fix requires upgrading Engrampa to version 1.26.2.
Ubuntu Security Notices USN-8640-1 USN-8640-1: Engrampa vulnerability Publication date 17 August 2026 Overview Engrampa could be made to run programs as your login if it opened a specially crafted file. Releases 22.04 LTS 20.04 LTS 18.04 LTS 16.04 LTS Open side navigation Close side navigation Packages Details Update instructions References Packages engrampa - archive manager for the MATE environment Details It was discovered that Engrampa incorrectly handled symbolic links when extracting certain archives. An attacker could possibly use this issue to write arbitrary files and execute arbitrary code. It was discovered that Engrampa incorrectly handled symbolic links when extracting certain archives. An attacker could possibly use this issue to write arbitrary files and execute arbitrary code. Update instructions In general, a standard system update will make all the necessary changes. Learn more about how to get the fixes. The problem can be corrected by updating your system to the following package versions: Ubuntu Release Package Version 22.04 LTS jammy engrampa – 1.26.0-1ubuntu1+esm1 Ubuntu Pro Fix available with Ubuntu Pro via ESM Apps. A community fix might become publicly available in the future. engrampa-common – 1.26.0-1ubuntu1+esm1 Ubuntu Pro Fix available with Ubuntu Pro via ESM Apps. A community fix might become publicly available in the future. 20.04 LTS focal engrampa – 1.24.0-2ubuntu0.1~esm1 Ubuntu Pro Fix available with Ubuntu Pro via ESM Apps. A community fix might become publicly available in the future. engrampa-common – 1.24.0-2ubuntu0.1~esm1 Ubuntu Pro Fix available with Ubuntu Pro via ESM Apps. A community fix might become publicly available in the future. 18.04 LTS bionic engrampa – 1.20.0-1ubuntu0.1~esm1 Ubuntu Pro Fix available with Ubuntu Pro via ESM Apps. A community fix might become publicly available in the future. engrampa-common – 1.20.0-1ubuntu0.1~esm1 Ubuntu Pro Fix available with Ubuntu Pro via ESM Apps. A community fix might become publicly available in the future. 16.04 LTS xenial engrampa – 1.12.0-2ubuntu0.1+esm1 engrampa-common – 1.12.0-2ubuntu0.1+esm1 Reduce your security exposure Ubuntu Pro provides ten-year security coverage to 25,000+ packages in Main and Universe repositories, and it is free for up to five machines. Get Ubuntu Pro References CVE-2023-52138 CVE-2023-52138